Apple has solidified its early lead in the tablet sales war, increasing its market share in tablet computers to an overwhelming 95%, according to new sales data from market research firm Strategy Analytics. "The tablet wars are up and running," said Neil Mawston, Director of Strategy Analytics. Apple is protecting its early lead with a new ad touting the iPad as "full-size" as compared to the current crop of challengers that all have 7-inch screens.

Overall sales of tablet computers shot up 26% over the last quarter for a total of 4.4 million sold, Strategy Analytics found. 4.19 million of those were iPads, making up 95.5% of the total. At the same time, the number of tablets running the Android operating system went from 2.9 percent to 2.3 percent: an increase in total numbers but a decrease in shares. Android and Blackberry tablets "are trailing in Apple's wake and they already have much ground to make up," Marston said in a statement announcing the results. While several manufacturers - including Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Dell - are coming out with Android tablets in the coming weeks and months, Apple just expanded its distribution channels to include AT&T and Verizon retail outlets as well as chains like Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Additionally, the challengers have a high hurdle to overcome in terms of marketing: few consumers seem to have any interest at all in alternatives to the iPad.

ChangeWave surveyed 3,108 consumers during October and found that one in four of them (26%) say they plan on purchasing a tablet in the future, with four out of five (80%) of those saying they'll buy an iPad. Research In Motion's forthcoming PlayBook was a very distant second at 8%, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Tab at 3% and the HP Slate with 2%. Consumers appear to be turning in increasing numbers to tablets instead of netbooks: only 14% of those who plan on buying a laptop in the next 90 days say it will be a netbook: a decline of 10 percentage points since the high-water mark in June of 2009.